The Royal Baths Murder

A Yorkshire Murder Mystery, Book 4

By: J. R. Ellis

Narrated by: Michael Page

A murdered crime writer. An idyllic Yorkshire town. Can DCI Oldroyd separate fact from fiction?

A famous writer is found murdered at the Victorian baths in the Yorkshire town of Harrogate. In a crime worthy of one of his novels, Damian Penrose, who was appearing at the town’s crime writing festival, has been ruthlessly strangled. But with no trace of the murderer and no apparent means of escape, how did the killer simply vanish from the scene of the crime?

There’s only one mind capable of unlocking this mystery: DCI Jim Oldroyd. But as he and his team quickly discover, while Penrose was popular with the reading public, he had made plenty of enemies. Feuds over money, accusations of plagiarism, a string of affairs.... His route to the top left a trail of embittered rivals - and suspects. But which of them was willing to commit murder?

When Penrose’s shocking death proves to be just the first of many, it becomes clear to Oldroyd that he is dealing with a calculating criminal hell-bent on revenge. He must find and bring them to justice. Before the truth becomes more chilling than fiction....

©2019 J. R. Ellis (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Weakest in series

I enjoy the setting of these books and the details about Yorkshire. The series are Agatha Christie in nature but the writing is uneven and nowhere close to the legendary mystery author. This was the weakest in the series and seemed to be primarily a vehicle for his political point of view.

Well Done Love Letter to Agarha Christie

J.R Ellis continues a four book streak of excellent puzzle-box mysteries, read by an enthusiastic Michael Page. Here, Ellis indulges in the meta-fiction of crime writers getting murdered at a crime fiction convention. He openly dedicates the story to classic locked room mysteries like Christie's as he writes a story in that vein.

Ellis has grown in his writing through the series. This entry has an involved but not overdone mystery one could just about solve along with DCI Oldroyd. However, like a good Agatha Christie novel, that is unlikely on the first go-round (I didn't). He continues a slightly preachy undertone with a side plot with Steph that I found unnecessary but much less jarring and out-of-place than its first appearance in the last book. I won't give spoilers, but I also would have preferred a murderer more directly engaged in the public plot; the identity came a bit out of nowhere. But, overall, excellent book, and I will keep reading the series.

Michael Page continues as an enthusiastic narrator with a good Yorkshire accent as needed. However, it is still a little difficult to distinguish his voices from each other. Combined with Ellis's habit of sometimes going by characters' first names, sometimes last, it can get a bit confusing. But, overall, great read. He brings the books to life.

Great series

I enjoy this cozy series. The characters and plots are interesting. It is not too gruesome.

Best so far

This was fun. Way too many characters to keep track of but still quite good. In fact, it was my favorite of the series so far. I still am leery of the romance between two of the characters.

This was another locked room mystery. And the setting of a murder at a murder mystery festival was a cute way to go. Much of it was predictable but I enjoyed it. I liked seeing Oldroyd step out of his comfort zone.

And Michael Page’s narration was quite decent.

Narrators Voice Irritates

I just can’t concentrate on the storyline when the narrator’s voice irritates me so much